The Croatian composer Marko Tajcevic was born in 1900 in Osijek in east Criatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He first studied violin in Zagreb, then briefly pursued his musical studies in Prague, and afterwards in Vienna where he studied with Joseph Marx and Max Springer. After returning to his homeland, he completed his studies and made his first success with songs based on folk music which he composed for a joint concert with three other Croatian composers.

Next to being a composer, Tajcevic worked as a teacher (first in Zagreb and later in Belgrade) and music critic all his life and therefore his oeuvre is not very large. Being a slow and meticulous worker, his works are well-crafted though. He composed small-scale pieces rather than large works, and was considered by many a "master of the miniature". His output totals 54 compositions, works for solo voice, choir, chamber orchestra, strings, woodwinds, and piano. Of his piano works, the Sedam balkanskih igara (Seven Balkan Dances) are probably the most popular, having been in the repertoire of pianists like Friedman, Rubinstein and Borovski.